Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1887-12-21
History of Christmas.

History OF Cnr1StmaS..
There we're some men in advance of
their age who had learned to think of
the whole life of Christ in it's unity as
s life for and with man crowned by
his vicariOus death and resurrection.
Irenaus, in particular, is worthy Of
special mention and enduring honor
as the first of the fathers to bring out
the unfolding of all the stages OF hui
man life in Jesus Christ; and even
though ne had never written another
word than this, he deserves to be I'M
mortal in the memory of the church
for having said: ''The Son of God be-
came as child among the children in
order that childhood might be made
holy" This sentence holds the
heart of Christmas. But it was not
until long after it was uttered, 1t was
not until the latter half of the fourth
century, that the church at length be-
gan to feel and to unfold its meaning.
Then it was that she emerged from
the storm of persecution into the sun
shine of imperial favor. Then she
saw tnat she had work to do
here on earth in the cleansing and
adjoining of human life with the beau
ty OF holiness. Then sherealiZed that
patient suffering and faithful death
were not the only duties of the Chris
tian, but that. following God in love,
it was possible to begin in this world
the purity and peace OF Heaven.
Then she began to feel the wondrous
significance of the living entrance of
the Son of God into the life Of man,
and the perfect holiness in every hui
man relation. Then she passed from
the lower conception of Church
saved out of the world, to the higher
conception of world to be
saved by the ministry of the
Church, natural year to be
transformed by reverent devotion
and wholesome piety into the Chris
tian year, redeeming life as an atom
ing death of Christ, to be preserved in
living remembrance by the perpetual
COMMUNICATION of it's chief events.
Then it was that, opening her heart
to the humanity of religion, she began
TO draw near to the humanity OF Jesus
and to seek with eager interest for the
day OF his birth that she might make
it holy.
But what clew was there to direct
the search ? What reason could be
given for choosing one day rather
than another for the Christmas festl-
val The gospels, always meager in
dates, were silent here. They gave
hint of the day or month OF the Nativi-
ty. Oral tradition, we may be sure,
was equally reticent or Indifferent.
There were, indeed, few scattered
suggestions of the date OF Christ's
birth floating here and there among
the writing of the fathers, but these
were all of late origin, manifestly I'M
historical, and above all quite cop-
Trajectory. Clement, of Alexandria,
said that many Christians regarded
the goth OF May as the day of Nativ-
ity, others preferred the Goth of April,
but he favored the 10Th OF Novem.
Der. In the Eastern Church the 9Th
or 9th of January was celebrated as
the date of Christ's baptism, and ma
tivity was joined to this on no better
ground than a forced Interpretation
OF Ezekiel 1, 1-3, as prophecy of the
incarnation. Others again liked the
21st of March as the day Of Christ's
birth. Between such varying and
slightly supported assumptions there
was little to choose. A historical
date was clearly out of the question.
Nothing was left for the church to do
but select some day on the grounds
of convenience and symbolic signifi-
canoe, and celebrate it by common
consent as Christmas Day.
It would take too long for me to
trace the many reasons which led
TO the choice of the 25th of December.
1t was doubtless connected with the
process of deduction with the day
which has already been generally &C.
copied as the common date of the An
nuuciation and of the creation of the
world. Assuming that the world
was made in the spring, because
it was commanded to bring forth grass
and herbs, and that it was made
when light and darkness were equally
divided, 'sbecause the evening and the
morning were the first day." it was
natural, though somewhat naive to fix
upon thevernal equinox (according to
the Julian calendar. March 25) as the
exact date of the creation. He who
could question the value of such
straightforward and scriptural ar
gument as this must have had more
logic and less piety than belonged to
the early Christians. And once hav-
ing been discovered by this easy
method the very day on which the
world came into being and the glori-
GUS light sprang out of darkness,
what more simple than to assume
that it was the same day on which
the power of the Almighty over-shad-
owed Mary, and the day spring from
on high began His entrance into the
world Nothing could be palmer.
Even the least imaginative of chro-
nographers could reckon forward
from this fixed point OF the AS
sumption nine months, and arrive at
December rs, as the day OF the Ma.
tivity. And here another wonderful